He stomped towards me and I instinctively crumbled in on myself. I kept my gaze on the man with black hair. The guy he was spotting had just stood up and was looking towards us as well. He had black hair as well and seemed to be of Eastern Asian descent.

“Yo,” he called out to the man steaming in front of me. “This the bitch, Max?”

“Excuse me?” I bristled. “I don’t even know you!”

“He knows all he needs to know,” The taller man, Max, hissed. “That you’re a weak little wolfless girl who somehow managed to swindle her way into the Academy.”

“And I know everything I need to know about you,” I threw back at him.

“You’re a big bully,” I continued. “Who, clearly, is insecure in his own place so much so that he has to put other people down.” I curved my lips into a smirk. “And not someone I’d like to spend my time giving a shit about.”

“Oh shit,” Someone whispered behind me. I looked back at the crowd that had formed around me. All of the surrounding wolves looked scared shitless. I turned back around and looked at my bully.

“So you scare everyone here?” I stood up straight. “What are you some sort of prince?”

The Max guy glared down at me. His body seemed to dwarf mine entirely. “I’m Maximus Wolfham. The heir to the Wolfham line,” he spat.

Wolfham. Wolfham. Wolfham.

Why was that name so familiar to me?

“Oh,” I said under my breath. Add it to my tally of “oh”s. This man was one of the potential suitors my mom had picked for me. He was the heir to the next greatest wolf house.

And he was looking at me like I pissed in his cheerios.

“Oh,” he mocked me. He pushed past me, banging his shoulder against mine. I felt the same shiver of electricity surge through me as it did when he ran me over yesterday.

“I meant what I said yesterday, human,” Maximus threw over his shoulder. There was that word again. “Stay out of my fucking way.”

I followed him across the gym. He stopped in a group of people and turned around to face me. His friends were chatting besides him, but he was too busy staring daggers at me. I groaned.

So much for staying under the radar, I thought.

“Quiet, quiet, quiet!” A voice boomed across the gym. A man, clearly the coach from the way he was dressed, emerged from the office besides the gym. “That’s enough chit chat. We’re timing the run today. Give me a warmup lap then Maximus and Petyr will lead the stretches.”

Without a second command, the entire group took off down the track. I followed them, lingering towards the back of the group. Petyr must’ve been the Eastern Asian man being spotted by Maximus as the two took the lead. I struggled to keep up.

My breath was catching in my throat as I looked across the track and saw Maximus and Petyr looking back at me with stone cold gazes. Great, I thought to myself. Another enemy.

Peytr was handsome as well. But he was no Maximus. Even with how rude he was to me, I couldn’t help but find him incredibly attractive.

We rounded out the warmup lap towards the end of the group then broke into lines for stretching. I wound up being the woman with long black hair whom I’d run into earlier in the day.

She made sure to remind me that she didn’t like me by almost body checking me every time we turned around.

When stretching was done, we formed a semicircle around the coach. He stood at the front, clipboard in hand. He scribbled something in pen then sighed before tucking the clipboard under his arm.

“Right, so I’m Coach Wells,” he sighed. It was if he was completely bored. “We’re doing the run today. For you first-years. It’s twenty laps around the track in under fourty-five minutes.”

Twenty laps? Ten miles? In under fourty-five minutes???

I felt my stomach bile rise up to my throat.

I ran in high school.

I was a decent short distance runner. The mile was my bread and butter. I’d never run more than five miles let alone ten. I looked around to see if anyone else looked panicked. No one seemed phased. I turned back to Coach. He caught my eye and saw the panic on my face.

“Now, if you don’t get twenty,” he said. “Ya won’t get kicked out. But you will have to take supplementary training until you can pass. The ideal is twenty but if you can get fifteen, you won’t have to do supplementary training. Shoot for twenty. Be fine with above fifteen. Got it?”

Everyone around me nodded. Fifteen. I could do fifteen laps. That was seven and a half miles. Only two and a half more than my max. Entirely achievable.

Coach had everyone line up on the track. It was wide enough that we were in lines of three. In front of me was a woman with white-blonde hair and shiny purple eyes. In front of her was a woman I hadn’t met yet. The blonde-haired woman slowly turned around and gave me a half smile before whispering a good luck under her breath. With that, Coach’s whistle went off and we were off.

Everyone in front of me took off at breakneck pace. I stuttered to start, shocked by the fact that someone had actually been nice to me. I tried to keep up but felt my lungs straining so I returned to the same rhythm I’d learned in high school.

Right, left, right, left.

It was easy falling back into the mechanics of running. It had been my escape in high school. In track, there was no orphans or parentless kids. It was you and the red track. You were measured by how fast you could go. And I could go fast.

I was peeling around my tenth lap as coach yelled ten minutes left. I pushed my legs harder. Five laps in ten minutes. It wasn’t undoable. I felt my legs beginning to die as I went harder and harder. I hit the corner of my fourteenth lap and broke into a sprint. I had no clue how much time was left but I knew I had to prove myself.

I flew by the crowd of finished wolves, pumping my arms and legs harder. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as I repeated my mantra.

Prove it. Prove it. Prove to them you are worthy of being here!

I crossed the midway point of the lap when my soul was crushed. Coach’s whistle blew across the track and burned into my ears.

“Time up!” he shouted. “Smith!” he called my human last name and I stopped, keeled over, choking on my lungs. “You’re in supplementary!”

I walked back across the track and stood next to the woman with the white-blonde hair. She gave me a small, sad smile.

“That was really impressive,” she said quietly. “Normally wolfless don’t make it past ten laps.”

“Thanks,” I choked out. “Did anyone else miss it?”

She bit her lip and it immediately answered my question. Great. I groaned and slumped down to the ground.

A foot kicked at my heel and swiped it out from under me, causing me to topple over. I glared up at my assailant. It was, of course, Maximus.

“Only one this year to not finish the run,” he taunted. “And she’s wolfless. You can’t tell me it isn’t because of that.”

I pushed myself up and stood with my chest proud. “I’m wolfless but I still was close enough to almost beat your stupid run.”

“Almost,” Maximus repeated me with a smug smirk. “As in didn’t.” He chuckled and turned away from me.

“God,” I hissed. “I hate him.”

“He certainly doesn’t like you,” The blonde girl mused.

I groaned and ran a hand over my face. “Thanks,” I said. Maybe it’s because he knows you’re the Luna heir? The tiny voice in the back of my head said.

He can’t, I said. Unless he was getting information from someone else outside Alpha Academy. No one here knew who I was.

“Okay, damn – you kids and your chatting!” Coach shouted. “Do you even want to spar?”

There was some shouts, whoops and hollers around the group. Personally, I wished to crawl in a hole and die. Sparring?

“Smith!” Coach’s voice brought me out of my daydream. Loren shook me gently. I realized my face was set in a grimace, so I gave her a soft smile.

“Anddddd….” Couch peered down at his clipboard. “Wolfham.”

Great.

Just great.

Now Maximus was about to kick my ass and gloat about it for all of eternity. I looked across the sparring mat to find him waiting for me. He wiggled his fingers tauntingly and I felt my grimace return. I stomped over to the mat and took my defensive stance in front of him.

“Let’s get this over with,” I sighed.

Maximus grinned like a cat. “Gladly.”

He threw the first punch and I managed to block it with my forearm. It stung like hell and caused me to hiss in pain. As I was adjusting, he leg swept out and I was on my ass. I groaned and rolled back onto my feet. It felt like a mental bar had been taken to my ankle.

I looked at him as I retook my stance. His nose was wrinkled.

“You reek of human,” he hissed. “Have you ever even been around a wolf before?”

“Yes,” I threw back quickly as I threw the first punch this time. “Well, no.” I corrected myself. I was worried about giving myself away.

“Yes or no?” Maximus said leisurely. He threw a double cross that landed into my forearm twice. I grunted as I accepting the force.

“No,” I grit out as I threw another punch. He blocked the first at his ribs then used it to counter and landed one in my gut. I was back on my ass again. I huffed and blew a stray piece of hair out of my face. “I grew up with humans,” I managed to get out as I tried to hook my foot around the back of his calve and bring him down.

He barely moved.

I cried out in frustration before rolling over and getting back on my feet. He came at me harder this time. But his words sounded just as lazy as they were before.

“Raised by humans?” he questioned. He threw a hook. I barely blocked it. I was getting sloppy. “No wonder you don’t have any respect for the Higher packs—” Another hook, just barely missing my cheek. “—Though what wolf would abandon their daughter?—” Another punch, landing in my arm and causing my to cry out.

“—Clearly you were a massive disappointment—”

Punch. Punch. Block. Miss. I staggered back.

“—I mean what wolf is wolfless at your big age?—”

A kick to my thigh. My knee hit the ground.

“—Just face it, you’re nothing. Not even your parents wanted you.”

Another punch. This time, making contact with my cheek.

The rage ignited within me. I felt a fire wash over my with a tenacity that I had never felt before. I cried out as I threw my arm back towards Maximus. I swiped my nails across his bicep and he staggered back.

Slowly I watched as a trickle of blood pooled in a line then dripped down his inner arm. Maximus looked shocked. He ran his pointer finger over the cut, smudging the blood. He hummed and looked off in the distance.

I turned to see everyone looking at us in shock. No one had expected me to hurt Maximus. I slowly stood up and looked Maximus in the eye.

“I will prove to you that I belong here,” I said slowly. “And when I do, I expect that fucking apology.”

With that, I turned and walked off the sparring mat and into the locker room.

I showered quickly before everyone else came in. The blonde girl who had spoken with me earlier ran into me on the way out. She grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the locker room.

“I can’t believe you did that!” she whisper yelled. “No one’s ever made Maximus bleed. Let alone a wolfless!”

“Yeah,” I half laughed. “Me either. Something just came over me.”

“I’m Loren, by the way,” she said. She gave me a soft smile. “It seems like you need a friend.”

“I do,” I mumbled. I was so out of my element. I could feel eyes on me and I had no idea why. On that thought, my stomach grumbled loudly. I paused and looked at Loren.

“Um, do we get lunch?”

Loren laughed. “Of course,” she said. “You wanna hit the cafeteria?”

“Please,” I said back.

Loren led me to the cafeteria next to the gym. She told me there were several places across campus that I could eat at. There was even a steakhouse. I shook my head in awe. I didn’t think I’d ever been to a steakhouse. It certainly wasn’t my first choice when I had no money in the orphanage.

We walked inside the big cafeteria next to the gym and I was immediately overwhelmed. There was every type of cuisine I’d ever heard of and some I hadn’t. Everything was luscious and bright and covered in vegetation. Loren darted off towards something called the “sushi station” while I sauntered towards the sandwich station.

I got myself the usual, turkey on white with mustard, and a thing of water. I was incredibly dehydrated and exhausted after Basics that morning and contemplating getting some of the sushi Loren was walking around with as well. God knew my body could use the calories.

Instead, I stuck with my sandwich and walked up to the cashier. I tried to fish around my person for cash but the cashier said I was okay. He handed me my receipt with my balance on it and I felt my face fall.

Victoria had placed more than enough money in my account. Maybe I could’ve had the sushi? Instead, I waited for Loren to pay and then walked around with her to find an open table.

As we looked, the doors to the cafeteria swung open and Maximus strolled in. He was followed in by two other men. Both were equally as hulking. The man on his right had a permanent scowl on his face. His hair was a dark brown and he had slightly paler skin than Maximus. It was darted with freckles. It was an odd juxtaposition to his demeanor.

The second I recognized immediately. His name was Thorne Blythwitch. He had been around the castle when I was there. Victoria told me he’d be my knight one day. I shrugged it off at the time but now he was here.

And he had no clue who I was.

His hair was shaved on the bottom, a light brown. The top part was dyed blonde, pulled into a small ponytail, back off his face. He had a sharp jaw and a bit of facial hair above and below his lips. His face was neutral until he saw me. He paused and watched me walk by, eyes locked together.

I held his gaze as I kept going. I knocked into something and my sandwich flew off my tray leaving a smear of mustard in it’s path. The sandwich smacked against something and I cringed in response, eyes snapping shut.

When I slowly pried them open, Maximus was looking down at me, with murder in his eyes and mustard all over his white shirt.

“Oh she’s done for,” I heard over my shoulder.

I wanted to turn and glare at whomever said that but my eyes were locked on Maximus. He slowly ran a hand down the front of his shirt and some of the mustard sloshed to the ground. The rest coated his hand. He looked at me and pierced me with his golden eyes. I opened my mouth to speak and was cut off.

“Fucking hell!” Somone close screamed. I jerked my gaze. It was the man with freckles and dark brown hair. His scowl had somehow gotten worse.

“Watch where your fucking going!” He snapped. “I’ve never seen such a clueless person before.”

Maximus hummed, glancing down as his mustard covered hand. “Maybe if she wasn’t eyeing Thorne up and down, she would’ve paid better attention,” he said. Then he looked back up at me. “Though, I should’ve expected this kind of behavior from a wolfless human.”

That damn word again.

“Oh, I see,” the freckled man hissed. “This is the idiot who chose to scar you in Basics?”

Scar? Had I really cut him that deep? I was too busy musing my own strength to realize that the freckled man had stepped in closer to me. He was so tall, taller than Maximus. His entire being engulfed mine in a shadow and it showed what I really was.

An ant amongst giants.

Angry giants.

“Listen to me, girl,” the man snapped.

“Kairos,” Thorne warned. Though it had no actual warning. If anything he sounded bored.

Kairos.

I knew that name too.

Holy shit, were all three of these men supposed to be my potential husbands?